1st Amendment - freedom of religion, speech, + press
2nd Amendment - right to bear arms
3rd Amendment - restricted quartering of soldiers
5th Amendment - due process of law + freedom of self-incrimination
6th Amendment - right to a speedy trial
9th Amendment - people have other rights not mentioned in Constitution
10th Amendment - states get powers that arent specified in the Constitution
1798 Alien and Sedition Acts - limited citizenship of immigrants & allowed gov. to prosecute those against the gov. --> discouraged immigration & inspired VA+KY Resolutions for nullification
1801 Judiciary Act - increased # of federal judgeships rather than Supreme Court justiceships
1807 Embargo - US ships couldn't leave foreign port --> gave depression
1807 "Force Act" - gave power to enforce Embargo
1808 Non-Intercourse Act - US couldn't trade w/ Britain nor France (during their war)
1810 Macon's Bill No.2 - opened trade w/ Britain + France, but pres. could stop trade for violation of neutral shipping
1820 Missouri Compromise - MO= new slave state ; ME= new free state ; all territories above 3630' line = free --> temporary fix for "balance" in representation between free and slave states
1836 Distribution Act - fed. gov. would pay surplus funds to states to fund highways, railroads, canals, etc.
Compromise of 1850 - CA = free state ; new territories would not have any slavery restrictions ; abolition of slave trade in DC ; harsher fugitive slave act (that was much opposed by the Free-Soil Party) ; Utah + NM territories had popular sovereignty
1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act - NB+KS had popular sovereignty, & the MO Comp. was repealed --> caused major conflict (esp in "Bleeding Kansas") and formed the Republican Party
1863-1864 National Bank Acts - new organized bank system w/ national bank note system
1861-1862 Confiscation Acts - freed all slaves used to help Confederate army
1864 Wade-Davis Bill - majority of white males in Confederate states had to promise loyalty, abolish slavery, disfranchise Confed. leaders, + repudiate debts to become part of Union again --> pocket vetoed by Lincoln, which angered Radicals
1865 Thirteenth Amendment - abolishd slavery
1865-1866 Black Codes - southern whites regained control of former slaves
1866 Civil Rights Act - blacks could become citizens w/ protected rights (although president Johnson tried to veto)
1866 Fourteenth Amendment - protected black rights as citizens w/ penalties to states that denied black male suffrage
1869 Fifteenth Amendment - ensured black male suffrage
1867 Tenure of Office Act - protected members of Johnson administration from being fired -- used to impeach Johnson after he violated it, but Johnson still had enough votes in Senate to not be convicted
1870-1871 Enforcement (KKK) Acts -no voter discrimination, fed. gov. could protect blacks against discriminating state laws, & pres. could suspend habius corpus -> weakened the KKK
1882 Chinese Exclusion Act - banned Chinese immigration + Chinese couldn't become citizens all b/c of American racism against Chinese (starting back during the transcontinental railroad that consisted of mostly Chinese workers) -> renewed every 10 yrs up until it ended in 1943
1862 Homestead Act - encouraging settlement, the gov. gave 160 acres of land for small fees to those who stayed for 5 yrs + improved it
1887 Dawes Act - took away any tribal lands for white settlement + promoted assimilation by making kids go to boarding schools and encouraging Christianity
1883 Pendleton Act - some fed. jobs required competitive written examinations -> 1st national civil service measure
1890 Sherman Antitrust Act - antitrust legislation -> no impact at 1st b/c it was weakened by the SC
1890 McKinley Tariff - high protective measure that brought down the popularity of the Rep.s
1887 Interstate Commerce Act - banned discrimination in railroads, required railroads to publish rate schedules, & required rates to be "reasonable + just" -> no impact at 1st
1900 Currency (Gold Standard) Act - legalized US commitment to gold standard -> victory for conservatives
1901 Platt Amendment - gave US control over Cuba w/ the full right to intervene + put naval bases there
1919 Eighteenth Amendment - prohibition
1920 Nineteenth Amendment - gave women the right to vote
1906 Meat Inspection Act - fed. inspectors have to examine meant -> influenced by Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
1906 Pure Food and Drug Act - fed. regulations to sale of foods/medicine
1913 16th Amendment - fed. income tax
1913 Federal Reserve Act - Fed. Reserve Board oversees new system of 12 Fed. Reserve Banks
1916 Selective Service Act - formed American Expeditionary Force w/ 3+ million men
1917 Espionage Act - punished spies, sabotages, + war obstructions
1918 Sedition Act - any showing of war opposition was illegal
1924-1928 McNary-Haugen Bill - demanded parity, but vetoed by pres. Coolidge
1921 Sheppard-Towner Act - gave $ to establish prenatal + child healthcare programs (repealed by Congress in 1929)
1924 National Origins Act - banned immigration from east Asia, esp. Japanese
1929 Agricultural Marketing Act - Farm Board made loans + made sure that there were surpluses to raise prices -> failure
1930 Hawley-Smoot Tariff - protected 75 farm products but made imports more expensive -> failure
1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act - subsidized farmers to lower + regulate production -> shut down by Congress
1933 National Industrial Recovery Act - NRA limited production to raise prices ; PWA gave public works jobs to many -> shut down by Congress
1933 Tennessee Valley Authority - modernized region along TN River Valley by creating dams along the river, giving it cheap electricity and more
1933 21st Amendment - repealed the 18th Amendment
1933 Glass-Steagall Act - gov could curb irresponsible speculation by banks
1934 Indian Reorganization Act - hoped to reverse assimilation pressures, allowing natives to be independent -> influenced by John Collier
1934 Reciprocal Trade Agreement Act - lowered tariffs by 50% as long as other nations did the same
1935-1937 Neutrality Acts - made sale of weapons to nations at war illegal & enforced cash-and-carry policy (which eventually led the US to use it to help out Britain + USSR)
1947 National Security Act - reshaped US military + diplomatic relations w/ Dept. of Defense, National Security Council, CIA -> expanded pres. powers
1947 Labor-Management Relations (Taft-Hartley) Act - made union-promoting closed shop illegal & repealing of controversial section 14(b) = goal of labor movement
1950 McCarran Internal Security Act - Congress had communist orgs had to register w/ gov. -> showing impact of red scare
1956 Federal Highway Act - gave $ to build 40000+ mi of interstate highways -> largest public works project in US history
1965 Immigration Act - immigration on equal basis (except from parts of Latin America)
1965 Civil (Voting) Rights Act - protected blacks trying to vote
US Gov. and American Policy:
The Northwest Ordinance (1787) -- an ordinance which stated that "The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians; their lands and property shall never be taken away from them without their consent.” Though this was stated, it was ignored more often than it was followed
The Dawes Act (1887) --Did not benefit the Indians.
Indian Removal Act (1830) -- Gold was found by the Cherokee on their land; and upon hearing this, Americans took over Georgia and claimed jurisdiction over the Cherokees. The Cherokees sued claiming that they were independent from Georgia and the Supreme Court ruled in favor of them
Act of March 3 (1871)
Curtis Act (1898)-- ended tribal gov.s if the tribes refused allotment
Snyder [Indian Citizenship] Act (1924)-- natives were granted full US citizenship
Indian Reorganization Act (1934) --
Indian Claims Commission (1946)
Relocation Program (1952)
Area Redevelopment Act (1960)
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965)
Senate Special Subcommittee on Indian Education (1965)
Voter Registration Act (1965)
Great Society Program (1967)
“Indian Civil Rights Act” (1968)
Wheeler-Howard Indian Reorganization Act (1934)
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (1971)
Indian Education Act (1972)
Meminee Restoration Act (1973)-- evoked termination of the Menominee and restored tribal status
Indian Finance Act (1974)
Termination Policy (1953)
Indian Self-Determination and Educational Assistance Act (1975)
Indian Health Care Improvement Act (1976) -- provided funds for hospital renovation and scholarships to enter Indian Health Service
Educational Amendments Act - Title XI (1978)
Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act (1978)
1Indian Child Welfare Act (1978)
1983 Department of Health and Human Services set New eligibility rules for people receiving medical treatment from Indian Health Services
1990 Congress passed Legislation to "encourage and support the use of Native American languages in schools
US Gov. and American Policy: